Bengals and Burrow and Chase, oh my: Raiders’ next foe scary talented

It’s easy to define NFL teams by their record at the midpoint of the season. But the standings can be deceiving.

That certainly appears to be the case with the Bengals. Raiders coach Antonio Pierce doesn’t see a 3-5 team when he watches Cincinnati on tape.

“Not when you look at the skill players and the quarterback,” Pierce said. “And then defensively, yeah it might be a bad year from that standpoint, but when you watch them, they’re sound and they’re in the right places.”

The Raiders know they’ll be playing a team with its back against the wall at 10 a.m. Sunday at Cincinnati’s Paycor Stadium. The Bengals can’t afford any more bad losses if they want to make the playoffs.

Here are three things to know about Cincinnati heading into Sunday’s game:

1. Burrow is a baller

The Bengals are a good team with plenty of talent. Their fortunes, however, rest on the right arm of their star quarterback, Joe Burrow.

This is Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s first time facing Burrow, the first overall pick in the 2020 draft. Graham has enjoyed doing a deep dive on the Cincinnati star.

“I’m sitting there like, ‘Geez, this dude’s good, man.’ And I’m smiling because of the challenge,” Graham said. “I understand it causes later nights and some headaches, I guess, but I’m excited to go against him. He’s a good player.”

Graham said what makes Burrow special is his toughness in the pocket. The 2019 Heisman Trophy winner is willing to step into throws under pressure and push the ball downfield.

Graham also complimented Burrow’s intelligence.

“You can see him changing plays,” Graham said. “And you can see they’re all on the same page, the receivers, the (offensive line), the backs.”

Pierce said what stands out about Burrow to him is he doesn’t flinch in any situation. The 27-year-old always seems to make the right decision. Pierce said Burrow is a good athlete as well.

“Competitive, tough, smart, you can see even battling all the injuries, man,” Pierce said. “Everything’s rallied around this player, and he’s a special player. So, we’ve got to disrupt him, get him uncomfortable, and obviously not allow him to have easy targets.”

Burrow ranks fourth in the NFL in completion percentage (70.3), is tied for third in touchdown passes (15) and is eighth in passing yards (1,993).

2. Chasing greatness

The Bengals boast one of the league’s best receiving duos in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

Higgins is doubtful for Sunday’s game with a quadriceps injury, but Chase is talented enough to keep defensive coaches up at night on his own.

“Probably the best combo of receivers, skill players that we’ve played against all year, along with the quarterback,” Pierce said. “But Ja’Marr Chase, man, is elite. I mean, he’s one-of-one right now.”

Graham said he would have a hard time making a case that Chase isn’t the NFL’s best receiver at the moment.

The former LSU standout, who caught passes from Burrow in college, leads the league with 674 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns.

Chase is particularly dangerous after the catch. Pierce and Graham emphasized the importance of tackling to their team this week, especially in the secondary.

3. Knocking guys around

The Bengals have 12 sacks this season, the fourth-fewest in the NFL. They haven’t been aggressive with blitzes. But they still somehow have 29 quarterback knockdowns, tied for the seventh-most in the league.

That means Cincinnati is getting close enough to at least harass opposing passers and is more than willing to make them pay for staying in the pocket.

That’s cause for concern for the Raiders, who didn’t handle the Chiefs’ blitzes well in their 27-20 loss to Kansas City at Allegiant Stadium last week.

“You’ve got to protect the quarterback,” Pierce said. “It’s no different from what we saw at the end of the game last week versus Kansas City. Teams are going to tee off once they figure out there’s a weakness, or you haven’t picked up something in protection. They are just going to keep going at it.”

The Raiders know they need to pay attention to defensive end Trey Hendrickson even when the Bengals don’t blitz. Hendrickson leads the team with seven sacks and 15 quarterback hits. No other Cincinnati player has more than two sacks or six quarterback hits.

“He’s really good off the edge,” quarterback Gardner Minshew said. “So, you’ve got to be aware and have a plan for how they attack you.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.